1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to workstations wherein filling operations take place through feeding of material from a hopper through a filling device to a container intended to receive measured portions of the material. The invention relates particularly to a workstation wherein a hopper surmounting a piston filler or similar filler delivers bulk material to the filler which then deposits measured amounts of the material into a pan such as a muffin pan or the like, the filler and hopper being vertically moved between positions intended for scraping, cleaning and filling of the hopper and positions intended for conducting filling operations through the piston filler.
2. Background of the Invention
In dispensing operations such as occur in a number of manufacturing situations, difficulties often exist in cleaning, scraping and filling a bulk container which feeds a material to be dispensed into a dispenser especially when the dispenser itself must be positioned at a level above the floor of a work room which is compatible with the height of a workman conducting operations with the dispenser. In a work environment such as a baking operation wherein pans are brought either manually or automatically underneath a filling device whereby usually measured amounts of a material to be dispensed are dispensed into such pans, it is often difficult and even unsafe to attempt to clean, scrape or fill a bulk container surmounting the dispensing device since the open upper portion of the bulk container is usually located five to seven feet above the floor of the room within which manufacturing operations occur. Such situations usually involve dispensers such as piston fillers which are capable of dispensing measured quantities of a material into pans such as muffin pans, a common operation conducted either manually or automatically such as on a conveyor belt. In most such operations, an operator stands before a stationary table and brings a muffin pan into a position beneath the piston filler whereupon actuation of the piston filler causes measured amounts of muffin batter or the like to be dispensed into appropriate portions of the muffin pan. In such situations, the piston filler is fed by means of a hopper which surmounts the piston filler with the open upper portion of the hopper existing at a level of five feet or more above the floor of the room within which the filling operation occurs. In order to fill the hopper with muffin batter or the like it has previously been necessary to lift a bowl within which the batter has been mixed or a secondary container holding the batter to a height sufficiently high above the open upper portion of the hopper to allow tipping of the bowl and scraping of the bowl to cause all of the batter to be fed into the hopper. In some prior situations, workers actually climb ladders disposed on the sides of the piston filler/hopper and manually cause a bowl which contains batter to be tipped over above the hopper and then scraped to remove all batter in order to feed the hopper which then in turn feeds the piston filler. Such an operation is hazardous and, due to the difficulty of accomplishing a balancing act of this nature, inefficient and less than a favored activity of the worker who must accomplish this difficult task. Devices known as bowl lifts have previously been provided for lifting a bowl within which batter has been mixed to a position above the open upper portion of a hopper followed by tilting of the bowl and then scraping of the bowl manually to remove all batter from the bowl. In this situation, it is again necessary for a worker to climb a ladder positioned next to the piston filler/hopper combination and scrape out the bowl which has been lifted my means of the bowl lift to make certain that all material is removed from the bowl. The operation of scraping the bowl which has been lifted by the bowl lift above the level of the hopper is again hazardous due to its occurring at an unsafe height above the floor within which these manufacturing operations occur. Personnel conducting these operations can be injured if balance is lost while attempting to maintain a position on a ladder and scrape the interior of the bowl. In all of the situations described above, it is again necessary for operating personnel to ascend a ladder to scrape the walls of the hopper so that all material which is to be dispensed is utilized and dispensed through the piston filler. The danger of falling from a ladder during such a scraping operation is a clear danger which should be avoided where possible. Still further, the interior of a hopper after dispensing operations must be cleaned on a regular basis, at least once a day, after the scraping operation is conducted to remove batter from the walls of the hopper. This cleaning operation again occurs at a height of five feet or greater above the floor of a room within which the operations take place with personnel again being required to ascend a ladder to such a height and to clean the interior of a hopper utilized in the situations thus described. In situations where a bowl lift is utilized, substantial space is required for the bowl lift as well as for the piston filler/hopper which is located on a stationary table. In situations such as exist throughout the baking industry, very little space is available for a piece of equipment as large as a bowl lift and which is only required periodically during manufacturing operations for performance of a particular function, that is, the lifting of a bowl to a vertical position above a hopper for feeding of the hopper. In spite of the disadvantages inherent in the use of bowl lifts these prior art devices have represented the best previous approach to the situations thus described since bowl lift devices do at least eliminate the need for personnel to climb ladders with heavy bowls within which batter or the like has been mixed for feeding into the top of a hopper. Certainly, the use of bowl lifts still require personnel to ascend a ladder and scrape the bowl to remove all batter from the interior of the bowl. A bowl lift device previously available in the art is a device known as LIFTILTRUK bowl lifters, a trademark of Savage Bros. Company of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, these bowl lift devices representing a prior art approach to the solution of those problems referred to above. Similar problems have been addressed by Habicht in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,954,037 and 5,205,699 which describe apparatus for vertically lifting a container within which a flowable material is present for feeding of the flowable material into a container located at a distance above floor level. The devices of Habicht are similar in general function and operation to the bowl lifting devices of Savage Bros. Company. Beaman et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,035,725, provides a hoist which is intended to raise a dough bowl to a position allowing dispensing of dough within the bowl into a hopper. As such, the device of Beaman et al also is similar in function and operation to the LIFTILTRUK devices of Savage Bros. Company. While the devices discussed above, especially the bowl lift devices of Savage Bros. Company, represent some of the best solutions to the problems described above, problems still exist with these prior art devices especially problems relating to convenience and safety in the workplace as well as problems associated with the space available for conducting these manufacturing operations when it is necessary to use bowl lift devices, ladders and the like in order to fill a hopper typically located at or above eye level, to scrape a bowl filling such a hopper when the bowl is disposed at a substantial vertical height and to scrape and clean interior walls of a hopper when the open upper portion of the hopper is located at a height of five feet or greater above the floor of the workplace.
The present invention finds solution to the problems described above by providing a workstation at which filling operations occur and wherein a piston filler/hopper is mounted for vertical movement between a lowermost position wherein the interior of the hopper is easily accessible to an operator standing safely on the floor of a workplace and whereby the operator can easily and safely scrape and clean inner walls of the hopper without resort to ascension of a ladder to reach the interior of the hopper at a vertical level above the floor of the workplace which could cause injury to the operator if the operator fell from the ladder at such a height. This lowermost position of the piston filler/hopper further allows safe and efficient filling of the hopper from a mixing bowl or the like at a level above the floor of the workplace whereby an operator can safely stand on the floor and tilt a bowl containing batter or similar material and discharge the contents of the bowl into the hopper and even scrape walls of the bowl to feed all material within the bowl into the hopper without the need for ascending a ladder or similar device to accomplish filling of the hopper at an unsafe vertical level above the floor of the workplace. The workstation of the invention further contemplates the vertical elevation of the piston filler/hopper to a level convenient for an operator to feed pans such as muffin pans and the like into a relation with the piston filler to allow measured quantities of muffin batter or the like to be dispensed into the pan, this height being adjustable to the particular height of the operator so that the operator can conduct filling operations with a high degree of comfort and convenience. The workstation of the invention which includes a filler/hopper and apparatus for mounting the filler/hopper for vertical movement between desirable levels above the floor of a workplace thus produces substantial advantages in the workplace due to the saving of space and due to the ease of operation and safety of operation which occurs through use of the present workstation. The invention thus provides substantial advantages when compared to the devices and associated methodology of the prior art.